Fished Back Bay all day 19 July, had a great day watching wildlife, porposes, seals, eiders, eagles etc. Not a flounder, hardly even any sculpin biting. Spoke to other fishermen in a square sterned canoe and they only had a few small flounders. Spoke to one guy on the dock and another on a salmon cage and both said the same thing that flounder fishing has been poor this year and for the last few years as well. Thick fog in the morning so we didn't go too far until it lifted. Took my boat up the channel to where you could see Lime Kiln bay and there was a wicked fog bank still on Lime Kiln bay so I didn't go any further as it was rolling my way. 60 -70 feet of water all the way through the back channel so in my opinion the tide would have to go down alot before your average recreational motorboat couldn't make it through. But I could be wrong just my observation. So anyway my advice is if your after flounders try someplace else than Back Bay, apparently you have to stay outside of the small yellow boueys ans some cages are attached together so you couldn't take a boat between them even if the guys working there would let you. On another note I took the Wife and Kids to St Andrews for the day and toured the Huntsman Marine Aquarium. They had a swimming pool sized tank outside with Saint Joh River Sturgeon in it. Says that they grow to bewteen 6-10 feet long and they've got one at least ten feet long in there, the sign said that it was 60 years old. I'd say that the pool had bewteen 10 - 15 sturgeon, the smaller ones being the ones that they have bred in captivity. Apparently they have bred and sent sturgeon to Poland and germany for restocking efforts there. We also checked out the Atlantic Salmon center, it's on the road out of town and has some whopper salmon in a huge tank there as well as nature trails and historical displays.

Bill G.

I've heard reports that the flounder fishing is better at Beaver Harbour and there are no salmon in the cages there.

BG

Yes I'm referring to the aquaculture salmon that is a huge industry along the southern coast of NB. The excess food from the cages attracts all kinds of other fish. As for why the flounder fishing has declined I have no idea I'm just an occaisional visitor to that area.

Bill G.